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Politics of North Rhine-Westphalia

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The politics of North Rhine-Westphalia takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. The two main parties are the Centre-right Christian Democratic Union and the Centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

North Rhine-Westphalia uses mixed member proportional representation in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.[1] Every five years the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia secretly vote in a general election to elect least 181 members of the Landtag.[1] First-past-the-post voting determines 128 of the minimum 181 members of the Landtag. The remaining seats available to each party is determine by the party-list proportional representation.[1] only parties who win at least 5% of the votes cast may be represented in parliament.[1]

History of politics in North Rhine-Westphalia

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From 1966 to 2005, North Rhine-Westphalia was continuously governed by the Social Democrats or SPD-led governments. The 2005 state election granted the CDU an unexpected victory. Their top candidate Jürgen Rüttgers formed a coalition government with the FDP. With the result of the 2010 state elections, this government lost its majority in parliament. After many coalition talks, SPD and the Greens have agreed on a minority government.

Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia

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Legislation

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The task of legislating is split between the Landtag and the Bundestag.[1] The Bundestag is responsible for all matters which directly affect Germany as a whole. States can only participate in this area through the Bundesrat.[1] The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is responsible for cultural matters, the education system, matters of internal security, i.e. the police, building supervision, health supervision and the media within North Rhine-Westphalia.[1] The Landtag may enact laws as long as the Bundestag does not make use of its right to legislate.[1]

The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, the parliamentary parties and groups consisting of at least 7 members of parliament have the right to table legal proposals to the Landtag for deliberation.[1] In consultation with the Ältestenrat, the President of the Landtag places the draft bill on the plenary session's agenda.[1] Firstly, the minister responsible, or one of the members who is filing the bill, introduces it to the plenary session and justifies the reasons for introducing it.[1] During this First Reading, if the bill is politically sensitive, there is usually a fundamental debate about the law.[1] Normally, the debate ends with the draft bill being referred to the overall control of the appropriate expert committee and, if necessary, being referred to other committees as well, which may also become involved in the advisory process.[1]

This is when the detailed work begins for the experts in the individual parliamentary parties.[1] External expert witnesses are often brought in to evaluate the legal proposals. They provide statements during what are known as "hearings" and make their contribution to the process of arriving at a decision which is right and proper.[1] Preparations for the expert committees also take place in the parliamentary party working groups.[1] The weekly parliamentary party meetings are a forum for exchanging information between committee members and other Members of Parliament.[1]

The draft bill is examined down to the last detail in a small group, before appearing for a second time on the agenda of the plenary session, when it is debated afresh on the basis of the committee report.[1] Every Member of Parliament now has another opportunity to table amendments.[1] In this Second Reading, once members have decided which tabled amendments to accept, it is usual for the final vote concerning the law to take place.[1]

Constitutional changes and budgetary laws are debated in three Readings.[1] For other proposed legislation, a parliamentary party or a quarter of all members of parliament can apply for there to be a Third Reading and, if necessary, further committee consultations.[1]

The law passed by the Landtag is delivered to the Minister-President, who, together with the ministers involved, is required to sign it and announce it in the Law and Ordinance Gazette.[1] When the law comes into force is normally determined by the legislation itself, most usually the day after its announcement.[1]

Election results

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Since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany, the election results in the state have been:

State election results from 1947 to 2022
Year SPD CDU FDP Grüne AfD Other Government
1947 32.0% 37.6% 6.0% KPD 14.0%
Zentrum 9.8%
Other 0.8%
CDU–SPD–KPD–Z
1950 32.3% 36.9% 12.1% Zentrum 7.5%
KPD 5.5%
Other 5.7%
CDU–Z
1954 34.5% 41.3% 11.5% Zentrum 4.0%
Other 8.7%
CDU–FDP–Z
SPD–FDP–Z
1958 39.2% 50.5% 7.1% 3.2% CDU
1962 43.3% 46.4% 6.9% 3.4% CDU–FDP
1966 49.5% 42.8% 7.4% 0.3% SPD–FDP
1970 46.1% 46.3% 5.5% 2.1% SPD–FDP
1975 45.1% 47.1% 6.7% 1.1% SPD–FDP
1980 48.4% 43.2% 4.98% 3.0% 0.4% SPD
1985 52.1% 36.5% 6.0% 4.6% 0.8% SPD
1990 50.0% 36.7% 5.8% 5.05% 2.5% SPD
1995 46.0% 37.7% 4.0% 10.0% 2.3% SPD–Grüne
2000 42.8% 37.0% 9.8% 7.1% 3.3% SPD–Grüne
2005 37.1% 44.8% 6.2% 6.2% 3.5% CDU–FDP
2010 34.5% 34.6% 6.7% 12.1% Linke 5.6%
Other 5.5%
SPD–Grüne (minority)
2012 39.1% 26.3% 8.6% 11.3% Pirates 7.8%
Other 6.9%
SPD–Grüne
2017 31.2% 33.0% 12.6% 6.4% 7.4% 9.4% CDU–FDP
2022 26.7% 35.7% 5.9% 18.2% 5.4% 8.2% CDU–Grüne

Party Strength in Landtag

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Election year Total
seats
Seats won
CDU SPD FDP DZP Grüne AfD Other
1947 216 92 64 12 20 28 [a]
1950 215 93 68 26 16 12 [b]
1954 200 90 76 25 9
1958 200 104 81 15
1962 200 96 90 14
1966 200 86 99 15
1970 200 95 94 11
1975 200 95 91 14
1980 201 95 106
1985 227 88 125 14
1990 237 89 122 14 12
1995 231 89 108 24
2000 231 88 102 24 17
2005 187 89 74 12 12
2010 181 67 67 13 23 11 [c]
2012 237 67 99 22 29 20 [d]
2017 199 72 69 28 14 16
2022 195 76 56 12 39 12

State Landtag Compositions

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State Election Results Maps

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Constituencies in the Landtag

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Cologne Administrative District


Düsseldorf Administrative District


Münster Administrative District


Detmold Administrative District


Arnsberg Administrative District

Constituencies in the Bundestag

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No Constituency Member 2021 Voters 2017 2013 2009 2005 2002 1998 1994 1990
86 Aachen I Oliver Krischer Grüne 176,306 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
87 Aachen II Claudia Moll SPD 226,420 SPD CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
88 Heinsberg Wilfried Oellers CDU 192,346 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
89 Düren Thomas Rachel CDU 199,656 CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD CDU CDU
90 Rhein-Erft-Kreis I Georg Kippels CDU 249,035 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
91 Euskirchen – Rhein-Erft-Kreis II Detlef Seif CDU 249,198 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
92 Cologne I Sanae Abdi SPD 190,630 CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
93 Cologne II Sven Lehmann Grüne 242,483 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
94 Cologne III Rolf Mützenich SPD 204,539 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
95 Bonn Katrin Uhlig Grüne 230,215 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU CDU
96 Rhein-Sieg-Kreis I Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker CDU 238,627 CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD CDU CDU
97 Rhein-Sieg-Kreis II Norbert Röttgen CDU 216,063 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
98 Oberbergischer Kreis Carsten Brodesser CDU 206,640 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD CDU CDU
99 Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis Hermann-Josef Tebroke CDU 217,193 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
100 Leverkusen – Cologne IV Erwin Rüddel SPD 209,102 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD Created for 2002 election
101 Wuppertal I Helge Lindh SPD 202,528 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
102 Solingen – Remscheid – Wuppertal II Ingo Schäfer SPD 220,204 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU
103 Mettmann I Klaus Wiener CDU 203,030 CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD CDU CDU
104 Mettmann II Peter Beyer CDU 160,175 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
105 Düsseldorf I Thomas Jarzombek CDU 220,827 CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD CDU CDU
106 Düsseldorf II Andreas Rimkus SPD 190,102 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
107 Neuss I Hermann Gröhe CDU 213,250 CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD CDU CDU CDU
108 Mönchengladbach Günter Krings CDU 185,185 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD CDU CDU
109 Krefeld I – Neuss II Ansgar Heveling CDU 200,048 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU Created for 2002 election
110 Viersen Martin Plum CDU 227,166 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
111 Kleve Erwin Rüddel CDU 224,463 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
112 Wesel I Daniel Rinkert SPD 206,270 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
113 Krefeld II – Wesel II Jan Dieren SPD 175,852 CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD Created for 2002 election
114 Duisburg I Bärbel Bas SPD 163,394 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
115 Duisburg II Mahmut Özdemir SPD 155,265 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
116 Oberhausen – Wesel III Dirk Vöpel SPD 199,156 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
117 Mülheim – Essen I Sebastian Fiedler SPD 182,895 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
118 Essen II Dirk Heidenblut SPD 156,298 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
119 Essen III Matthias Hauer CDU 190,335 CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
120 Recklinghausen I Frank Schwabe SPD 165,193 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
121 Recklinghausen II Erwin Rüddel SPD 186,413 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
122 Gelsenkirchen Markus Töns SPD 168,496 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
123 Steinfurt I – Borken I Jens Spahn CDU 202,388 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU Created for 2002 election
124 Bottrop – Recklinghausen III Michael Gerdes SPD 199,344 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
125 Borken II Anne König CDU 201,102 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
126 Neuwied Marc Henrichmann CDU 194,695 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
127 Steinfurt III Anja Karliczek CDU 195,513 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU
128 Münster Maria Klein-Schmeink Grüne 233,953 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD CDU CDU CDU
129 Warendorf Henning Rehbaum CDU 208,754 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
130 Gütersloh I Ralph Brinkhaus CDU 234,177 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
131 Bielefeld – Gütersloh II Wiebke Esdar SPD 243,059 SPD SPD CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
132 Herford – Minden-Lübbecke II Stefan Schwartze SPD 226,894 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
133 Minden-Lübbecke I Achim Post SPD 201,888 SPD CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
134 Lippe I Jürgen Berghahn SPD 224,415 CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
135 Höxter – Gütersloh III – Lippe II Christian Haase CDU 172,435 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
136 Paderborn Carsten Linnemann CDU 231,534 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
137 Hagen – Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I Timo Schisanowski SPD 201,594 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
138 Neuwied Axel Echeverria SPD 175,283 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
139 Bochum I Axel Schäfer SPD 202,393 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
140 Herne – Bochum II Michelle Müntefering SPD 173,939 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
141 Dortmund I Jens Peick SPD 206,727 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
142 Dortmund II Sabine Poschmann SPD 199,317 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
143 Unna I Oliver Kaczmarek SPD 194,493 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
144 Hamm – Unna II Michael Thews SPD 231,226 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
145 Soest Hans-Jürgen Thies CDU 231,811 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU SPD CDU CDU
146 Hochsauerlandkreis Friedrich Merz CDU 200,496 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
147 Siegen-Wittgenstein Volkmar Klein CDU 207,672 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
148 Olpe – Märkischer Kreis I Florian Müller CDU 203,350 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
149 Märkischer Kreis II Paul Ziemiak CDU 195,816 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia". Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Retrieved 11 April 2011.